DIY Dry Erase Boards

A few weeks ago, I shared the DIY Fridge frames I made. I am still really happy with how they turned out, partially because I think having them up there keeps my husband from throwing random paper and schedules on the fridge. It looks clean and organized. Yay! I really wanted to help keep us more organized though, so I decided to make a couple DIY Kitchen Dry Erase boards.

The first is a shopping list board! We inevitably forget what we ran out of when it comes to shopping day. Then, you remember 5 minutes after coming home when you go to make yourself a sandwich. Having this board on the fridge gives me a quick and steady place to add the items as they run out. Steady is the most important element. I tend to lose the millions of slips of paper with notes on them. Really I think Cap throws them away but, however it happens, the end result is they are unhelpful.

The second board is for meals and leftovers that we had in the fridge. This might seem silly, but we always forget what we leftovers we have in the fridge. Then, somehow, a tupperware gets pushed back into the Narnia portion of the fridge and doesn’t appear until it can’t be eaten – then it magically appears again. Having a list saves us from this. It also helps my husband, who is not the primary food manager (I just made that title up, but I kind of like it), know what is up for grabs and what dinner options he has when I am gone. This board was a huge help when I was in Florida for 10+ days! He didn’t order food in every night because he couldn’t say he didn’t “know” what he could have for dinner. 😉

To make these boards, I started with 2 wood “frames” I bought from Michaels. I used a small paint brush to paint the intricate design portion because I couldn’t spray paint at the time. While using a paint brush was tedious, it was still easy. Then, I added the dry erase piece.

You have a couple options in regards to the dry erase portion – an easy way and the way I did because I wanted to experiment.

First option: Use Dry Erase board sheets to attach to your wood frame/board. (Click on the image below to see sheets I’ve used before on Amazon.com) To make sure it adheres well, you will want to make sure the surface is very smooth – so sand the surface down first if needed and make sure to wipe it down clean. This would be the easiest option.Second option: Use Dry Erase Paint. This is the option I used for this project, but it definitely isn’t as easy as using the Dry Erase Board Sheets. I purchased the Rust-Oleum Dry Erase Kit (click on the image below to see it on Amazon.com) because I really wanted to give it a try. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize beforehand that this kit come with two cans: A and B. You have to mix together A and B to make the Dry Erase paint. The mixed paint is only good for a short amount of time, so I definitely didn’t want to mix the entire kit together for these small pieces. Therefore, I did a little bit of educated guessing in regards to the ratio of these two cans. This worked fine for me and the boards are great, but it definitely isn’t the easy option.

I would highly recommend this paint though, especially for larger projects. I read a lot of reviews with success on painting walls. You just need to carefully read the instructions, including priming the surface first.

After adding the dry erase element, I hot glued some magnets to the back so they would stick to my fridge.

There is an important thing to remember about most dry erase options – the longer the marker is on the board, the harder it comes off. This was the same case as a teacher, too. Since my shopping list can be up there for a week, I usually use a wet rag to wipe off the marker and it comes clean. Using a dry towel would does not do the trick.

Don’t forget to check out the Fridge Frames I made that match these DIY Dry Erase Boards. Plus, while I used these for the kitchen and am loving them, these could be made for any room!

JOIN OUR EMAIL COMMUNITY!!

Join our Awesome Nerd Community for new content updates as well as our FLASH FREEBIES!

When you confirm your subscription, you will be taken to a confirmation page with a link to all the current flash freebies to download! Already subscribed but missed the flash freebie email? Simply confirm your subscription again for download access!